Selling the Sizzle Without the Steak?

from Hemmings Classic Car

Bait-and-switch marketing is normally associated with unscrupulous retailers. But do we wink at the sanitized version used by most automobile manufacturers to sell the sizzle without the steak as certain models succumbed to the 1970s?
Consider this sampling of familiar high-performance cars marketed during the American automobile's Golden Age, 1946-1975:
1957-'70 AMC Rambler Rebel
1964-'74 Buick Skylark GS/Century GS
1961-'69 Chevrolet Impala SS
1966-'70 Ford Fairlane/Torino GT
1964-'74 Oldsmobile 4-4-2
1956-'75 Plymouth Fury
1968-'74 Plymouth Road Runner
1964-'74 Pontiac GTO
Each was originally packaged and rightfully sold as a high-performance car. Every first-year buyer got a robust performer that could hold its own against virtually any of its contemporaries. Manufacturers hoped those buyers would entice other customers to buy their own copy after they had seen their buddy's taillamps one too many times. It was a dandy plan--so long as the steak remained under the hood to support the sizzle being sold.
However, manufacturers often succumbed to the temptation to use sizzle from early models to sell subsequent cars...while gradually withdrawing the steak. Increasingly dramatic exterior graphics were used to distract customers from under-hood shenanigans. It usually worked for awhile, or at least until enthusiasts tired of the ruse, at which time slumping sales dictated that the emasculated model name be retired or "repositioned."
Fortunately, select models were not compromised and are thus well respected regardless of model year. Buying one of them gave you as much or more horsepower as first-year buyers, even if you bought the swan-song year:
1966-'70 Chevrolet Malibu SS 396
1955-'65 Chrysler letter-series 300
1968-'69 Dodge Dart GTS
1969-'71 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
1951-'57 Hudson Hornet
1967-'71 Plymouth GTX
1956-'58 Studebaker Golden Hawk
1963-'64 Studebaker Super Lark/Super Hawk
True, the GTX and Spoiler base horsepower was five lower in 1971 than when introduced, but that is negligible. And while 1955-'57 Hudson Hornets have more power than the original 1951 Hornet, Hudson enthusiasts understandably decry the poorer handling of those Nash-based units.
In South Bend, Indiana, rather than prostitute the Golden Hawk name with a lesser car in its second year, Studebaker notched it up a cog mid-year with the little-known 1957 Golden Hawk 400. Golden Hawk 400s had no identifying script. They did have unique interiors with sumptuous leather appointments in addition to leather seats and, on two-tone models, the accent color was applied to the grille side cavities below the headlamps, as well as the fins. (Only the fins got the accent color on "regular" two-tone 1957 Golden Hawks.)
Ten Golden Hawk 400 show cars were built over the two-day period of February 12 and 13, 1957. They were sent to new-car auto shows around the country. The shows generated enough interest that Studebaker decided to produce 400s in quantity beginning April 26, 1957.
Quantity proved to be relative, however, because only 41 production 400s were ever manufactured. Adding those to the 10 show cars yields a total of only 51 Golden Hawk 400s; they were rare even in 1957. Today, 10 of the 51 built are confirmed extant.
Every manufacturer had at least one model that never surrendered its high-performance integrity. Maybe that's why immediate respect is tendered when referencing Malibu SS 396s, Cyclone Spoilers, Hudson Hornets, Plymouth GTXs, Studebaker Golden Hawks, and a few others. They always gave you both the sizzle and the steak.
The above lists are not complete. How many makes and models could you add to either one?

This article originally appeared in the March, 2012 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.